Chapter 32 #2
“Thanks.” I’d consider “a job well done” as high praise coming from someone like Chyna.
“You ever consider going into event planning?” Chyna asked.
“No. Definitely not.” After the last several weeks the only thing I wanted to do was get back to working with the dogs.
There’d been a reason I’d chosen to work with animals over humans.
Having to fill in for Lacey and be the “go to” gal had reminded me how much I disliked having to put on a front and play nice with everyone.
“Well if you change your mind, look me up.” Chyna handed me a hot-pink card with a number printed on it. “That’s my cell.”
I took it, with absolutely no intention of ever using it. But the thought was nice. And maybe if push came to shove and I found myself without a way to earn a living, maybe then I’d give Chyna a call and . . . On second thought, no, not even then.
“I’m going to go check in at the house and make sure they’ve got all the food packed up for the family.” I offered my hand. “Thanks for everything and have a safe trip back to LA tomorrow.”
Chyna barely touched her fingertips to mine. “Take care.”
I forgot the woman was somewhat of a germophobe. I’d been holding myself together all day, all weekend, when all I wanted to do was hide out somewhere with Alex and celebrate. As I reached the porch of the house, Lacey called to me from the swing.
“What are you still doing here?” I turned toward my friend, who was most definitely not on bed rest. “I thought you went home.”
“I couldn’t leave without seeing how it all turned out.” Lacey patted the cushion next to her. “Come and sit for a few minutes. I poured you a sweet tea.”
If I sat down now, I wasn’t sure I’d get back up again. Plus, I needed to find Alex. He deserved to share in the celebration. “Have you seen Alex?”
“No, but he can wait a few minutes, can’t he?” Lacey held out a full glass of tea. It even had a slice of lemon perched on the rim.
I carefully settled on the edge of the swing and took the glass. “What’s going on?”
Lacey put an arm around my back and gave me a squeeze. “I owe you big-time for this.”
“For almost destroying your high-profile event? I think we’re even.”
“Not even close. You know how much I wanted to be part of this wedding, how much it meant to me that we had such a huge opportunity in Ido.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“But you did better than I could have imagined. You’re amazing, Z.
You really came through for me, even with the .
. . well, even with the issue with the penguins.
I talked to Mr. Munyon, and he doesn’t blame us for any of it.
He said the photographer admitted he’d agreed not to use his flash. He’s taking full responsibility.”
“Well that’s good news.”
“It is, isn’t it? Now where’s your boyfriend? He ought to be celebrating with us, too.” Lacey clinked her glass of tea against mine.
“I don’t know. Will you be here for a bit? I’m going to see if I can track him down.”
“Sure. I’ll wait.”
I gave Lacey a one-armed hug, then left her sitting on the porch. Alex was probably doing a final check on the penguins before turning in for the night. I reached the door to the warehouse just as Morty was coming out.
“Hey, have you seen Alex?” I asked.
“No, I was coming to ask you the same thing. I haven’t seen him for a couple of hours.”
I swallowed. Hard. He wasn’t in the house.
He wasn’t at the warehouse. There had to be an explanation.
I pulled out my phone again and checked for a text.
Nothing. I pulled up his picture on my phone, the one I’d snapped the night we found the puppies.
The call connected. It rang three, four, five times before voicemail kicked in.
“He’s not picking up.” I pulled the phone away from my ear.
“Yeah, I tried calling a few times and wasn’t able to reach him. I hope he’s not still mad.”
“Mad?” I grabbed hold of Morty’s arm. “Why would he be mad?”
Morty grimaced. “We were talking about after the wedding. When I said something about moving out to the ranch, it seemed to set him off. It’ll be okay though. He’ll cool off.”
“So the two of you had a little falling-out and you think he’s gone off somewhere to calm down?”
“I’m sure that’s what happened. Just give him some time.”
“What kind of time are we talking about here? An hour or two?”
Morty sighed. “I don’t understand that boy. Last time we argued like this it took him ten years to circle back.”
Panic clawed its way up my throat. This was Alex we were talking about.
Alex, who even up until that morning had been willing to do anything and everything to save the wedding.
He’d even spray-painted flowers for me. And then I’d told him I loved him.
And he hadn’t said it back. And then he’d gotten that deer-in-the-headlights look that I’d dismissed as nerves.
“Oh hell.”
“What’s wrong, dear?” Morty peered up at me, his eyes extra round through the thick lenses of his glasses.
I slid my phone out of my pocket to see an incoming text from Alex. Hope that he’d left to run an errand filled my heart. It was all a misunderstanding. He was probably driving one of the servers home or chasing down a dog that accidentally got loose.
But as I read the first few words, my heart stopped beating. I reached for the handrail of the steps to steady myself.
Alex: I’m at the airport. I decided to take the job with Munyon. I thought I could settle in, but I just can’t. I’m sorry.